The Rawlings Gold Glove Awards were announced on Sunday evening and a pair of Colorado Rockies were among the recipients. Shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and center fielder Brenton Doyle were named the winners at their respective positions, marking the first time since 2018 that the Rockies have had two winners in a single season. Third baseman Ryan McMahon was also a finalist but lost out to Matt Chapman of the San Francisco Giants.

For Doyle, 26, it’s the second award in as many seasons after he won the award as a rookie in 2023 and most recently was announced as the winner of the Fielding Bible in center field. He is the seventh Colorado player to win multiple Gold Gloves after being the first NL rookie outfielder to win the award in 2023 and joining Hall of Famer Larry Walker (1997-99, 2001-02) and Carlos González (2010, 2012-13) as the only outfielders in Rockies history to win Gold Gloves.

“The defense on this team — winning or losing — is up there with the best in the league,” said Doyle to MLB.com’s Thomas Harding, “We work really hard at it. We’ve got a lot of guys that take a lot of pride in it. It definitely shows.”

During the 2024 season, Doyle led all MLB center fielders with an 11.4 ultimate zone rating, well ahead of the NL’s next-best center fielder in that metric, San Diego’s Jackson Merrill, who registered a 7.2 UZR. He was also first among MLB center fielders in range runs above average, which measures how often a fielder can get to balls in his vicinity, at 11.7. He also ranked in the top three in outs above average (16), fielding run value (15) and defensive runs saved (11). Additionally, Doyle led all MLB center fielders with “good fielding plays,” which Sports Info Solutions defines as web-gem level catches.

Patrolling the vast confines of Coors Field, Doyle has quickly cemented himself as the best glove in club history. His range and arm strength placed in the 99th percentile in baseball while his highlight reel has been defined by stellar routes, incredible throws, diving catches and home run robberies that have made him a key piece for the Rockies to build around.

For Tovar, he wins his first award after finishing as a finalist in his rookie season. At 23 years 60 days, Tovar becomes the youngest shortstop to win a Gold Glove in NL History while becoming the third shortstop in Rockies history to in the award, joining Neifi Perez (2000) and Troy Tulowitzki (2010-11).

He ranked second among NL shortstops with 10 DRS and fourth with 15 OAA, but Tovar was the only NL shortstop to accumulate double-digit marks in both DRS and OAA. He finished second among shortstops with a .988 fielding percentage and led MLB shortstops in total chances (676), assists (435) and double plays (107, including 52 he started, the most among shortstops).

Tovar also entered rare territory by becoming just the 15th shortstop in MLB history and the second Rockies shortstop (Tulowitzki in 2015) to have at least 675 total chances while committing eight or fewer errors. His 11.2 UZR led all shortstops and ranked third in the Majors overall. He finished as the runner-up for the Fielding Bible this season as well.

Defense has typically been a calling card for the Rockies and it is becoming more prominent once again as the team rebuilds with the youth. Tovar and Doyle became the first infielder/outfielder duo to win a Gold Glove in the same season since Nolan Arenado and González did so back in 2013. After 101 losses in 2024, the Rockies have plenty of work to do, but a key part of their success is always going to be elite defense to not only cover the confines of Coors Field but support the fact that pitching will always be a weakness, especially for strikeout centric arms. Having top-tier defense goes a long way in helping pitchers be more effective, something the Rockies are going to need moving forward.